Piano-action.



No. 767,790. PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

o BERGLUND & w. H. DOWD. Y

PIANO ACTION.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1904. N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

.16.. A jam No. 767,790. PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904. O. BERGLUND & W. H. DOWD. PIANO ACTION.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1904.

UNITE STATES Patented August 16, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

PIANO-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,790, dated August 16, 1904.

Application filed January 16, 1904.

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CARL BERGLUND and WILLIAM H. Down, citizens of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suifolk,

5 and State of Massachusetts, have invented an I parts.

The present invention has for its object to provide a novel sostenuto attachment for pianos by means of which any desired tone or chord may be sustained for any desired length I of time without in any way interfering with the usual action of the piano. This is accomplished by providing a pivoted sostenuto rail, to which is pivoted a series of damper-lever stops, said stops each being so constructed as to readily swing in one direction, but being prevented from turning in the opposite direction. In the normal position of the sostenuto rail the stops are out of the path of movement of the damper-levers; but when said rail is lifted 5 the stops are brought into the path of movement of the levers. If the sostenuto rail is lifted while any damper or dampers are raised from the corresponding string or strings, the stops corresponding to such damper or dam- 3 pers are carried in front of the corresponding damper-levers and operate to hold said damper or dampers away from the strings. The steps corresponding to the other damper-levers are carried behind said levers and in their path of movement; but since they are pivoted to yield in one direction they allow the free and usual operation of said damperlevers.

One embodiment of our invention will be 4 more fully hereinafter described.

In the drawings, in which one form of our invention is illustrated, Figure 1 is a side view showing our improved piano-action. Fig. 2 is a front View of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are similar to Fig. 1, showing the parts in different positions; and Fig. 5 is a detail hereinafter described.

The thrust-rod or sticker 3, the whippen 4,

Serial No. 189,230. (No model.

the jack 5, the hammer-butt 6, the hammer 7 the hammer-rail 8, the damper 9, damperlever 10, and the piano-string 41 are or may be all as usual in piano-actions, and as their construction and operation is well known to those skilled in the art we do not deem it necessary to further describe them.

The means herein illustrated for cooperating with the damper-levers to hold the dampers away from the strings is aplurality of elements which we have termed damper-lever stops, there being one such damper-lever stop to cooperate with each damper-lever. These stops are designated by 11 and in this form of our invention are carried by a suitably-pivoted sostenuto rail 12, having an arm 13 projecting therefrom, with which a pedaloperated lifting-rod 14 operates. The damperlever stops 11 are each pivoted to the rail in some suitable way, preferably by pivoting each stop between the arms of a block 15, rigidly secured to the rail. A spring 16, carried by the rail, engages the rear of each damper-lever stop and normally holds it in its operative position with reference to the rail, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. When in this position, the lower end 17 of each stop engages a stop-flange 18, carried by or forming part of the rail 12, whereby each damperlever stop is prevented from swinging toward the right. The construction is such, however, that each stop can swing freely toward the left or into the position shown in Fig. 4.

Each damper-lever 10 has projecting from its end a finger or tail piece 19, with which the corresponding damper-lever stop cooperates in producing the desired result.

20 designates a spring which serves to return the sostenuto rail to its lower position when the pedal controlling the lifting-rod 14 is released. a

The operation of our improved invention is as follows: WVhenever a key is struck and it is desired to sustain the tone thus produced during the time that other notes are sounded and damped again, the pedal controlling the lifting-rod 14 is operated immediately after such key is struck and before the corresponding damper has fallen back onto its string again. The striking of the key in the first instance raises the damper from the string, as shown in Fig. 3, and while the damper is thus raised the pivoted sustenuto rail is elevated, as above described. This carries the damper-lever stop corresponding to such damper in front of the tailpiece of the damper-lever and in the path of movement of such tailpiece, so that when the key is released the movement of the damper toward the string brings itstailpiece against the damper-lever stop, as shown in Fig. 4, and as the damper-lever stop is held from swinging toward the right the damper will be prevented from contacting with the string. Since the damper is held off from its string, the latter continues to vibrate, of course, thus producing the sustained tone desired. The pedal controlling the rail 16 is held depressed and the rail thus held elevated so long asit is desired to maintain the sustained tone. The raising of the rail 12 carries all the other damper-lever stops which correspond to those dampers which are still on the strings behind the tailpieces of said dampers, and if during the time that the rail is elevated any of the other keys are struck the corresponding dampers will be elevated from the strings, as usual, the manner in which the damperlever stops are pivoted permitting the free action of such damper-levers in both directions, as seen-in Fig. 4.

The springs 16 are made flexible and with only enough strength to hold the damperlever stops in proper position, and since the damper-lever stops are of themselves very light and the springs 16 easily flexed it will be apparent that said stops do not appreciably affect the action of the piano.

From the above it will be seen that we have provided a simple means by which any damper or dampers can be held from the strings for any desired length of time without in any way afliecting the action of the other dampers, whereby it is possible to sustain any note or notes as long as desired without affecting in any way any of the other notes. While we have shown one simple way of accomplishing this result, we do not wish to be limited to the precise construction illustrated, as various changes in the form and proportion of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is*

1. Ina piano-action, a damper-lever pivoted between its ends and carrying a damper at one end, a damper-lever stop adjacent the other end of the damper-lever and capable of free movement in one direction, and means to move said stop into and out of the path of the free end of the damper-lever.

2. In a piano-action, a plurality of damperlevers, a pivoted sostenuto rail adjacent the ends of said levers, a plurality of independent damper-lever stops pivoted to the rail, and means to swing the rail to carry the stops into and out of the path of movement of the ends of the damper-levers.

3. In a piano-action, a plurality of damperlevers, a damper carried by one end of each of said levers, a tail extending from the other end of each lever, a plurality of pivoted damper-lever stops normally out of the path of movement of the tails of the damper-levers, means to limit the turning movement of the stops in one direction, and means to carry said stops into the path of movement of the tails of the damper-levers, said stops when in front of the tails holding the dampers elevated from the strings and when behind the tails permitting the free operation of said levers.

4. In a piano-action, a plurality of damperlevers, a pivoted sostenuto rail adjacent the ends of said levers, said rail having a flange, a plurality of damper-lever stops pivoted to the rail, means to yieldingly hold each stop against said flange, and means to elevate said rail to carry the stops into and out of the path of movement of the ends of the damperlevers.

5. In a piano-action, a plurality of damperlevers, a sostenuto rail adjacent the lower ends of said levers, said rail having a vertical flange, a plurality of damper-lever stops pivoted to said rail above said flange, means to yieldingly hold the lower ends of said stops against said flange, and means to elevate the rail to bring the upperends of the stops into the path of movement of the lower ends .of the damper-levers.

6. In a piano-action, the combination of a damper-lever having an extension in the direction of its length, a swinging sostenuto rail, and a lever pivoted to said rail and adapted to engage said extension.

7 In a piano-action, a plurality of damperlevers each having an extension in the. direction of its length, a pivoted sostenuto rail, a plurality of damper-lever stops independently pivoted to the rail, and means to swing said rail to carry the stops into and out of the path of movement of the damper-levers.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL BERGLUND. WILLIAM H. DOWD. 

